


The Change of the Seasons

by starlight_and_seafire



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Damerey Week, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, POV Rey (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 17:11:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16330193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlight_and_seafire/pseuds/starlight_and_seafire
Summary: Rey’s never seen the seasons change before, not really. Now that the Resistance has set up a new base, she’s seeing the change for the first time.There are some other things that she’d like to see change, too.For Damerey Week - Day 3: First Kiss





	The Change of the Seasons

Rey’s never really been anywhere where the seasons changed before.

Or, at the least, she’s never seen it occur. Jakku was just endless months of tan and beige stretching along the landscape, and of being baked by the brutal sun. On Takodana, she was immediately in awe of the brilliant swaths of green, the blue of its lakes, but she was there and gone in a flash. Same thing with D’Qar, where the air was warm and calm, and the space filled with so much green.

She’d rather just forget Starkiller. Nothing but endless white, the chilly slush of snow.

On Ahch-To, she felt rain drenching her skin for the first time, the smell of it filling her lungs. And she got the first glimpse of changing conditions, the warmth and brightness of a morning transitioning to overcast skies that burst into chilly downpours from the heavens.

But nothing, nothing like this.

Now, she stands at the peak of the hill and marvels at the yellows and oranges and browns interspersed with specks of green.

For months they had been traveling through the galaxy on the Falcon, planet hopping while they watched, and scouted, and waited for the best possible location for a base to present itself. For months she felt practically nothing but recycled ship’s air.

It’s not that she’s complaining. She didn’t have to scavenge and fight just to survive. She didn’t have to carefully place one thin layer of clothing after another onto her body in order to protect it from the coarse sand and harsh sun. She had enough food to where she didn’t go hungry every day, enough water to slake her thirst.

She spent time sitting in quiet conversation with Leia Organa, learning about the Resistance, the history of the Rebellion, and the Force (or at least as much as a former Senator knew about the Force, Leia said with a wry smile gracing her face).

She sat with Finn and Rose while Rose recovered from her injuries, the return of her feisty spirit the first evidence she was feeling better, even if her weakened body wasn’t quite up to helping with repairs initially. Soon enough though, she and Rose were rummaging below deck, repairing the old ship and making modifications as best they could while they were on the run. Finn often joined them, sitting abovedeck and chatting with them while the two women worked.

Best of all was when Poe would join them as well, and the sound of laughter could drown out even the loudest banging of the tools. She couldn’t help but tease Finn one time, when they had already been on the run for a couple of months, that with Poe coming by he wouldn’t have to worry too much about identifying the right tools to pass down to them. She enjoyed teasing her friend, enjoyed him teasing her right back.

Luckily with the frequency Finn teased her and made the two women laugh, it was a good cover for the blush that seemed to permanently stain her cheeks whenever Poe came by.

It was something that started so gradually that she couldn’t even tell when it began, really. At first, in the immediate aftermath, the three of them had started to spend some time together, just trying to make sense of what had happened that had led them here. Then Finn had spent more time with Rose while she recovered, and then her and Poe spent more and more time together. It was almost inevitable, when they shared the similar, intense – horrific - experiences of Kylo Ren invading their head, torturing them. Despite Poe’s “torture buddies” comment, she could see the anguish behind his eyes. It’s not something you could just forget. She’ll never be able to forget it either.

She let him sit in the cockpit with her, sometimes, when Chewie was resting. Sometimes they’d talk, about anything and nothing, and sometimes they wouldn’t.

She’s not sure exactly how it went from only knowing about each other through BB-8 and then Finn, to becoming friends on their flight from Crait, to her blushing whenever Poe appeared or looked at her or talked to her.

Nor is she completely clear when exactly she grew to love him. But she does, and it’s real, and she’s never felt anything like this before.

She smiles briefly, as a memory flashes in her mind of the first time Rose had seen Rey blush and stammer when greeting Poe when he had appeared to assist with repairs. Rose’s eyes had widened and darted wildly between Rey and where Poe stood with his back to them while he talked to Finn.

“Really?” Rose mouthed silently, eyes darting back and forth once more. Rose’s mouth stretched into a wide grin, and she silently clapped her hands in front of her in glee, but Rey’s eyes widened in horror, suddenly frightened that Rose would spill the beans on  . . . whatever it was Rey was feeling, and everything was so new that she could barely even begin to explain them to herself, much less to Rose or, _gods forbid_ , Poe.

Rose noticed quickly how uncomfortable Rey was though and moved two fingers along her lips in a zipping motion. Rey wasn’t totally sure what that meant, but at least she was sure that Rose would keep her secret.

Of course, now that Rose had comm’ed her first thing this morning saying that she and Finn had come down with something late last night and couldn’t make it to the hike this morning, well … just because Rose could keep a secret didn’t mean she was above taking any opportunity that presented itself to throw Rey and Poe together. Rey couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of her while thinking about Rose’s lack of subtly recently in that regard.

“What’s so funny?”

Rey drags her eyes away from where she’s staring into the sea of brown and orange and red leaves and sees Poe looking at her, a small, fond smile on his face. There’s something in the way that the light hits him, where it seems like gold shines in his eyes and his hair, as if there’s something that illuminates him from within and it can’t help but shine out.

She shakes her head, trying to clear her mind from the flight of fancy it just took, hoping her thoughts weren’t showing on her face.

“What is it,” he asks, the grin spreading a little wider as he takes a step closer.

“It’s nothing,” she says, trying to steer her thoughts into safer territory. “Just . . . it seems so unreal sometimes.”

“What does?”

“All this,” she says, gesturing around her. “All my life I spent looking at the same landscape, day after day after day. And it was so hot that it was unbearable at times.  And now to be here? I never knew it could be like this. That there could be a place like this. It was beautiful in the summer, and now this? I could never have imagined something like this.”

She could see the change of the seasons occurring before her, and it felt so right. There was a sense of gentleness to it, a sense of expectation that this was right, this was the way it should be. Soon enough, the seasons would change again, she knew, but there was nothing to fear from it.

Poe’s moved to stand next to her now, his shoulder inches away from hers. “Things changed a bit on Yavin IV. But mostly it went from hot, to super hot, to monsoon season.” He gets a faraway look in his eyes. She’s seen it before when he’s clearly thinking about his old home. He grins down at her after a moment though. “This is pretty perfect, though.”

“Yeah?”

He nods, and he’s still looking at her, something soft in his eyes. She thinks that there’s something more to this look, something just underneath the surface, and she can’t help but want to dig into it and see what comes out of it. She can’t help but think this is maybe what Rose had hoped for when she had set them off on a hike alone together with some fake excuse about suddenly getting sick.

“I like you,” she says, and when she sees a fond smile, but nothing more, grace his face, she thinks she needs to be clearer. “I like you a lot. And I want to kiss you.” She’s never been kissed before, has never wanted to kiss someone before, never cared for or trusted someone enough with this part of her, not until this moment.  And maybe this was all too straightforward, but she doesn’t particularly know how else to say or go about it, doesn’t particularly care to learn. She doesn’t particularly think Poe would much care how it’s said, either.

She thinks that even if he lets her down, it’ll be gentle, but there’s something in the way he’s looked at her these last few months, the way his hand has lingered on her shoulder or elbow, the way he’s talked to her . . .

There just seems to be something in the air that says today is the day, now is the moment, change is in the air, but it’s the right path, the only way forward.

She watches his eyes widen, but he doesn’t say anything, and for a brief moment she worries that she made the wrong move. “Is that a no, then?”

Poe sputters for a moment, before saying “Kriff, Rey, that’s most certainly not a no. Are you sure?”

She rolls her eyes, but there’s no malice behind it. “Of course, I’m sure. Are you not?”

“No, no I’m sure. I just  - I guess I just didn’t think you’d want that with me now, or you know, maybe ever? That maybe it was just my imagination, or a fool’s hope? I’ve liked you for the longest time, it’s just you’re so great and-”

“Poe,” she interrupts. She thought his babbling was cute, but there’s so many better ways they could be spending the time. She’s rewarded when he stops talking and looks to her. “If you want to kiss me, I’m standing here waiting.”

He grins, something small and delighted, as he moves to face her. They’re about the same height, and it’s nice as he moves closer, his hand reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear before he rests it on her cheek.

She had the impression that this might be too overwhelming, the closeness, the eye contact, but despite the fluttery feeling in her stomach, she feels nothing but calm and loved in his presence.

It’s a lovely feeling. They haven’t even kissed and she already wants to repeat it.

“You sure?” His voice comes out low, just a bit husky, and she can’t even bring herself to tease him for asking the question again.

She nods, a short, quick motion, and is rewarded when he bridges the gap between them.

It’s gentle at first, just like she expected it would be, but no less powerful for its gentleness. As his lips move against hers, she moves to wrap her arms around him, pulling him closer. Warmth spreads across her body and she feels like she’s cocooned inside it, and she gets the feeling again that this is the way it was always meant to be.

He pulls back to rest his forehead against hers, and she’s out of breath, can feel his own chest moving up and down beneath her hand as he gasps for air as well.

He keeps holding her close, runs a hand over her hair once more before leaning back a little to look her over. “You okay?”

She wants to laugh at his question, the feelings bubbling up in her making her feel so much better than okay. “I’m fantastic, Poe,” she says, as she brings one of her hands up to run along the stubble that dots his cheeks.

He grins as he leans into her hand. “It was good?”

“It was pretty perfect, actually.”


End file.
